COURIER LIFE, OCTOBER 1-7, 2021 23
OUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE BOROUGH OF KINGS
Sláinte! Great Irish Fair makes triumphant
return to Coney Island home
BY BEN VERDE
The Great Irish Fair of New York
graced the shores of Coney Island
once again this weekend, bringing
songs and dances from the Emerald
Isle to the People’s Playground.
After the pandemic forced it to go
virtual during 2020, the fair returned
in-person for 2021 at the Ford Amphitheater
on Sept. 25.
The daylong festival hosted each
year by the Irish American Building
Society featured performances
from Irish musical groups and dance
troupes, including The Brooklyn
Bards, the Susan and Gerard Irish
Band, the O’Malley Irish Dance
Academy, and Gaelic Storm.
The fair also saluted a number
of honorees, including Kevin Cummings,
who served as Chief Brehon
of the fair, Dick Brennan, who was
awarded with the Celtic Cross, and
Brenda McCabe, who was honored
with the Kathleen Slatey Woman of
the Year Award.
The fair was fi rst held in 1981 beneath
the Brooklyn Bridge with Irish
musicians and vendors, before moving
in 1983 to Coney Island beneath
the Parachute Jump where it was
stayed ever since, helping in part to
revitalize Coney Island during one of
its rougher eras.
For a full list of honorees and performers,
visit www.IABSNY.com.
Attendees of the Great Irish Fair, like Chief
Brehon Alan Cummings and Caroline Ingram
(top), and Maura Coughlin and her husband
(bottom middle), along with a mother and her
baby (above) groove out to music and dancing
(right). Photos by Arthur de Gaeta
/www.IABSNY.com
/www.IABSNY.com